Tag Archives: ReConnect

Goodhue County Commissioners narrowly approves a $3.21 million USDA ReConnect Program Grant for rural broadband expansion

Posted on by
Reply

The Cannon Falls Beacon reports…

The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners narrowly approved accepting a grant for rural broadband internet expansion…

Details on the broadband grant…

The board voted 3-2, with Commissioners Jason Majerus and Todd Greseth voting against, to accept a $3.21 million USDA ReConnect Program Grant for rural broadband expansion. The board approved applying for the funding in 2021 and partnering with Nuvera Communications to be the provider that will handle the fiber optic installation. The scope of the work was updated in 2024 due to rising costs and the grant term is for 20 years.

“I don’t support this. There’s a come-and-go living out in the country. Maybe you don’t have to deal with your neighbor’s dog, maybe the fire truck might take a little longer to get there and you may not have fiber optic in front of you. If you live on the side of a rock ridge and have a half-mile long driveway, it’s not feasibly possible,” said Majerus. “But you also have Starlink. You’re probably not using an antenna with TV, you probably have a satellite for your TV, because that’s the transition we’ve went to. Homes are seldom hardwired anymore because we have all the wireless.”

“We have a $40 trillion dollar debt at the federal government, I don’t know where the $3.1 million is coming from. I get it, I’m just not sure for 190 people, that it really makes that much sense. There’s a reason it hasn’t been done yet, that it’s not feasible, that the private sector has made the decision it’s not feasible to do it. Apparently the government has got the money to make the decision and says it makes sense for them,” Majerus continued. “If there were no options, I don’t know that it’s equivalent to electrifying rural America or getting everybody with a phone, it’s not equivalent. Because there are options. It’s very doubtful that any one of these 190 supposed homes don’t have internet access, that they’re not using Starlink, that they’re not using some sort of satellite version. It’s hard to justify the money but evidently somebody’s got it, I’m not sure which pocket they’re taking it out of.”

Greseth agreed with Majerus, but seemed to grudgingly support accepting the grant before ultimately voting against.

“That’s where these last dollar costs have just exploded over the last 10 years. It used to be $7,000 for that last mile and now it’s up over $30,000 for that last mile,” said Greseth. “I’m frustrated with it, but the program’s there, it’s not technically coming out of our direct pocket. I’m frustrated with it, but I guess for the advantage for these here, it’s one of those programs that is there and we have the grant for it.”

Broadband Breakfast looks at the Farm Bill, economic impact and BEAD in Minnesota

Posted on by
Reply

The Daily Yonder posts an article from Broadband Breakfast’s Drew Clark about broadband in rural areas. It starts with a look at the impact of the Farm Bill on Reconnect funding…

The current fight [related to the Farm Bill] between the House and Senate over SNAP funding levels has been the loudest obstacle to passage, and proved to be the case on Thursday. But tucked inside the Farm Bill’s rural development title is a provision that governs the future of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect broadband program.
eConnect has provided more than $4.4 billion in loans and grants for rural broadband deployment since 2018, reaching some of America’s most remote and expensive-to-serve communities. The House Farm Bill, passed in April by a narrow 224-200 margin, would make ReConnect permanent.

But the House version sets minimum project speeds at just 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 25 Mbps for uploads. And it restricts eligibility to areas lacking 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads for service. Critics say that – as with previous broadband programs such as the Connect America Fund deploying broadband at 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads, such low thresholds would doom Rural America to a lower tier of service.

The proposed Senate version takes a more ambitious approach. In addition to making ReConnect permanent, it would use higher required speeds and broader eligibility. At a previous hearing on the topic before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Jesse Shekleton, director of Broadband Operations at Jo-Carroll Energy pushed for the higher speed standard. “Demands for bandwidth on farms will continue to grow,” he said

The Farm Bill also matters for broadband beyond ReConnect. Both the House and Senate versions would codify technical assistance for rural broadband planning and include provisions preventing ReConnect from overlapping with the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant program of the U.S. Commerce Department.

Looks at economic impact…

Broadband and rural economic development was the subject of Wednesday’s Broadband Breakfast Live Online discussion. In it, panelists said that broadband has become the price of admission for a rural community rather than a growth strategy on its own.

Well-connected rural counties post 18% higher per capita income and roughly 210% higher business growth than underserved peers, according to a Center for Rural Innovation study cited by Bartlett Cleland, executive director of the Innovation Economy Alliance.

And there’s a look at BEAD in Minnesota…

But being approved [for BEAD] is not the same as being built. Minnesota’s projects will reach 74,739 locations with $378.9 million in federal money and nearly $190 million in matching funds. The state must place its remaining initial projects under contract by Oct. 8. Getting the first one signed took more than 18 rounds of revisions with federal reviewers.

And often, the fights are over poles. Electric cooperatives, which own much of the existing pole infrastructure in rural America and are well-positioned to build broadband alongside it, are finding BEAD’s pole attachment rules onerous. Two co-ops said they turned down tentative BEAD awards entirely because compliance costs made the projects unworkable. 

NTIA, however, has defended this pole-attachment policy as necessary for deployment.

Winona resident speaks out on impact of losing ReConnect funding in their area

Posted on by
Reply

A letter to the Editor at the Winona Post gives a glimpse of what happens on the front lines when funding gets cut…

Living in rural Winona County is great. The people are great. The scenery is great. The internet, however, is not so great. Because my home sits in a valley setting, connectivity is spotty, and my family has long relied on expensive and poorly performing satellite internet. I was excited when I learned of a plan that would bring broadband internet to my rural home as part of the ReConnect project proposed by MiEnergy. Early this year, I met with their consultant to discuss the details of connecting the service. Then, in early March, I received a letter from MiEnergy informing me that the ReConnect broadband expansion had been canceled.

According to MiEnergy, the project had received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2023 and then sat idle for nearly three years awaiting environmental clearance from both USDA Rural Development and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office. During that time, costs rose and bids expired, which ultimately resulted in the project’s collapse. Rural communities in southeastern Minnesota were depending on this investment, and we have now been left behind due to inaction that I believe was avoidable.

House restores ReConnect Funding in FY2027 USDA Bill

Posted on by
Reply

Broadband Breakfast reports…

House appropriators included $40 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect program in their fiscal year 2027 spending bill, restoring funding after the agency proposed eliminating the rural broadband initiative.

The move marks a clear divergence from USDA’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, which proposed no funding for ReConnect, according to agency broadband program requests.

The House Appropriations Committee released the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill on Wednesday, ahead of a subcommittee markup the following day.

Senate votes for agriculture bill with $109 million for rural broadband

Posted on by
Reply

Broadband Breakfast reports…

The Senate voted 60-40 Monday to pass a continuing resolution that would reopen the government, plus some appropriations bills. One of the pieces of legislation would provide about $109 million for rural broadband programs.

The Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect program would see $50,750,000 of that. The bill would direct the funding to rural areas in which at least 90 percent of households lack access to speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload, provided there isn’t an existing state or federally funded deployment already planned. Recipient ISPs would have to deploy 100 * 20 Mbps.

Another $40,767,000 would be made available for distance learning and telemedicine grants, also managed by the USDA.

Paul Bunyan Communications completes broadband expansion in Sandy Pike, & Wuori Townships (St Louis County)

Posted on by
Reply

From Paul Bunyan Communications…

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to areas of Sandy, Pike, and Wuori Townships that included over 680 homes and businesses. Those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.
“We remain fully committed to bringing all-fiber optic gigabit broadband to the underserved areas in our region. Reliable Internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity, and we’re proud to now serve Sandy, Pike, and Wuori Townships.” said Chad Bullock, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.
“This is a major upgrade for both residents and businesses,” said Leo Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at Paul Bunyan Communications. “With our all-fiber optic network now offering Internet speeds up to 10 Gig, things like remote work, distance learning, telehealth, and streaming are not only possible, but they are seamless. It is a true game changer for these communities.”
Anyone interested in getting connected to the all-fiber optic broadband network in these areas can still sign up for service. The cooperative will return to bring the network up to locations with no construction fee when feasible.
There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone® Internet service.
To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area and learn more about the expansion construction process, visit http://www.gigazone.com
This project was made possible through the USDA ReConnect 3 Grant Program. This project is estimated to cost $13,588,555 with the USDA grant contributing $10,191,416. Paul Bunyan Communications investing $3,381,112, and Wuori Township contributing $16,026.

Lismore Telephone and Nobles County kick of FTTP project funded by ReConnect and MN State Grants

Posted on by
Reply

The Worthington Globe…

Many local companies are working together to bring enhanced broadband services to underserved, rural Nobles County residents, using approximately 637 miles of fiber to provide high-speed internet to 1,550 households and sites.

Bill Loonan, general manager of Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company, met with Nobles County commissioners and other project stakeholders Wednesday morning in Bigelow to kick off the Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) project.

They are working on a project in the area…

[Nobles County Board Chairman Gene] Metz said Nobles County invested $4 million into this project — money set aside from wind production tax revenues the county received.

“Our counties decided to spend their production tax to bring that service to everybody in the rural area,” Metz said.

Total project costs amount to $27.4 million. Funding for the project consists of 50% loan and 50% grant, with $13.7 million requested through grants and $5.7 million requested through loans. An additional $8 million is a cash substitution amount for the loan portion.

Lismore Cooperative applied for and received a grant of $19.4 million from the Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another grant was received through the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. In all, $208,598 was awarded specifically for the FTTP project in Bigelow.

More details…

The total FTTP project cost for Bigelow alone adds up to $695,328. The project area encompasses about 4.16 miles of buried fiber that will serve 113 locations, of which 19 are unserved and 94 are underserved.

Nobles County has awarded $35,000 toward the Bigelow project and the City of Bigelow has funded $15,000. The FTTP network is aimed at bridging the digital divide in the rural city of Bigelow.

US House moves to restore ReConnect Funding for 2026

Posted on by
Reply

Broadband Breakfast reports…

A rural broadband program had its funding restored by a House Appropriations subcommittee on June 4.

The ReConnect Loan and Grant Program, which provides funding for broadband infrastructure in rural areas, received a proposed $90 million for Fiscal Year 2026 in a recent bill released by the House Appropriations Committee.

Although President Donald Trump proposed eliminating ReConnect program funding in his FY26 budget proposal (p. 140), House lawmakers  chose not only to continue the funding, but more than double the program’s FY25  budget of $44 million. The bill still needs to be approved by the full House.

More info on MiEnergy’s ReConnect broadband funding in Fillmore and Winona counties

Posted on by
Reply

The Winona Post reports...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Minnesota Colleen Landkamer recently announced MiEnergy Cooperative as a recipient of a $14.1 million dollar grant from the ReConnect Program.

The $14.1 million grant, matched with a $14.1 million loan, will help the cooperative bring fiber to 2,255 people, 55 businesses, and 235 farms in Fillmore and Winona counties. The area includes unserved areas surrounding the city of Spring Valley in Fillmore County. In Winona County, the area includes unserved locations east of the city of St. Charles, surrounding the city of Utica, east and south of the city of Lewiston, and locations south of Interstate 90. Maps of the locations for this award can be seen by visiting www.rus-services.rd.usda.gov/s/public-searchable-database, selecting the program ReConnect, and searching for MiEnergy.

More info on Red River Communications’ ReConnect broadband project in Clay County

Posted on by
Reply

InForum reports…

Red River Communications received a $5.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to install fiber optic broadband for more than 80 square miles of rural Clay County. The Abercrombie, N.D.-based telecommunications cooperative received the funding through the agency’s ReConnect Program, which provides funding for new and improved broadband infrastructure in rural communities.

The company will make improvements in sparsely populated parts of southwest Clay County, including rural Comstock and rural Sabin.

The area has around two locations that need broadband access per square mile, Red River Communications CEO Tom Steinolfson said. Installing the infrastructure without funding could cost $30,000 per subscriber in the most rural areas served.

“So without adequate funding, there’s just not a business plan that’s able to be made to make sure these people have broadband that other parts of Minnesota, as well as North Dakota, already enjoy,” Steinolfson said.

On the specific funding…

Of the total project cost, the federal grant covers 75% of costs, matched by a 25% investment from Red River Communications, he said.

More info on the ReConnect broadband awards in Crow Wing & Morrison, Fillmore & Winona and Clay Counties

Posted on by
Reply

I wrote about the award earlier (so no new money) but nice to see the Minnesota Star Tribune mention it…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is sending more than $44 million in grants to Minnesota to help people in rural communities access high-speed broadband.

The funding, which Sen. Tina Smith helped secure through her work on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, is expected to give more than 5,000 Minnesotans, especially in rural areas, high-speed broadband access across the state. It’s also projected to help at least 139 businesses and 368 farms, Smith’s office said.

The latest investment comes when as many as 136,000 homes and businesses across Minnesota are said to lack high-speed broadband access.

As part of the investment, the USDA awarded Consolidated Telecommunications Co. $11 million to connect as many as 600 homes and dozens of farms and businesses to broadband in Crow Wing and Morrison counties. …

MiEnergy Cooperative was awarded more than $28 million to provide high-speed broadband to 55 businesses and 235 farms in Fillmore and Winona counties. That investment is expected to help as many as 2,255 Minnesotans.

Additionally, Red River Rural Telephone Association was awarded more than $5 million to help 17 businesses and 55 farms and a school access high-speed broadband in Clay County. That aid is expected to help as many as 482 Minnesotans.

More info on CTC’s ReConnect broadband project in Brainerd

Posted on by
Reply

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports...

High-speed internet is coming to farmers, rural homeowners and businesses in Crow Wing and Morrison counties.

Consolidated Telecommunications Co. in Brainerd, a rural broadband cooperative, was awarded a $5.5 million loan and $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Federal officials visited Brainerd this week to announce the funding as part of $313 million awarded nationwide through President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda and USDA’s ReConnect Program.

Andy Isackson, the co-op’s chief marketing officer, said nearly 600 homes will be connected to broadband with the funding. That includes 2,831 people, 67 businesses and 78 farms, the USDA said.

Three MN communities get ReConnect funding for broadband (Crow Wing & Morrison, Fillmore & Winona and Clay Counties)

Posted on by
Reply

Senator Tina Smith announces...

Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced three grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide high-speed, reliable internet to residents in rural Minnesota. Over 5,000 people will benefit from these awards. Recipients include 139 different businesses and 368 farms across the state.

“Internet access is not just a luxury in the 21st century, it’s a necessity,” said Senator Smith. “In Minnesota and across the country, people in rural areas, small towns, and Tribal communities need access to reliable, high-speed internet. Investing in broadband infrastructure with the ReConnect Grant Program will help connect communities in every part of the country to high-speed internet and I am proud to have helped bring this funding back to Minnesota.”

Three organizations across Minnesota were awarded money:

  • Consolidated Telephone Company – The investment will be used to deploy high-speed fiber optics to 67 businesses and 78 farms in Crow Wing and Morrison, and 2,831 people will benefit. They received $5,510,933 as a grant, and $5,510,933 as a loan.
  • MiEnergy Cooperative – The investment will be used to deploy high-speed fiber optics to 55 businesses and 235 farms in Fillmore and Winona, and 2,255 people will benefit. They received $14,122,353 as a grant and $14,122,353 as a loan.
  • Red River Rural Telephone Association – The investment will be used to deploy high-speed fiber optics to 17 businesses, 55 farms, and one school in Clay County, and 482 people will benefit. They received $5,166,742 as a grant.

The investment comes from USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program and totals $44,433,314 for all three awards. ReConnect provides loans and grants to bring high-speed internet to rural areas that lack access to broadband.

Pine County gets $5.5 million ReConnect grant to build broadband

Posted on by
Reply

Patriot News reports...

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN08) announced a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide high-speed, reliable internet to 38 businesses and 147 farms in Pine County. Over 1,000 people in socially vulnerable communities will have direct access to the internet with modern fiber optics running right to their front door. …

The investment comes from USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program and totals $5,576,250. ReConnect provides loans and grants to bring high-speed internet to rural areas that lack access to broadband. 

President Biden signs Farm Extension Bill, which support extended broadband funding

Posted on by
Reply

Telecompetitor reports…

President Biden signed an extension to the Farm Bill on Thursday as part of a new appropriations package aimed at averting a government shutdown.

The bill that Biden signed is commonly referred to as stopgap funding because it extends funding for some government programs through January 19 and for others until February 4 of 2024….

What does that mean?

Oveson and Keber confirmed with Telecompetitor that key broadband deployment programs in the current Farm Bill are the Broadband Loan and Grant Program, the Community Connect Program and the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program.

According to WTA, those programs are slated to get the same level of funding specified in the current Farm Bill, which, on an annual basis, is:

  • $3 million for the Broadband Loan and Grant Program
  • $35 million for Community Connect
  • $70 million for the Distance Learning & Telemedicine Program

The ReConnect Program, also administered by USDA, is not part of the Farm Bill, but is temporarily funded through January 19 at the current level of approximately $379 million on an annual basis, Keber said. That program makes grants, loans and grant/loan combinations to cover some of the costs of rural broadband deployments.

Farm Bill Wish List

Both NTCA and WTA would like to see the ReConnect program moved into the Farm Bill when the bill is updated. Because Farm Bills are normally updated every five years, this would eliminate the need to reauthorize ReConnect funding every year.

“We want to get ReConnect properly authorized so it’s a longer-term program, rather than relying on appropriations each year,” said Keber. He added that WTA wants to make sure that ReConnect rules require funding recipients to deploy service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps symmetrically in keeping with the rules that have been in place for the last two years.

NTCA has noted that it would not like to see ReConnect give preference to certain types of providers.

According to Oveson, stakeholders have until September 2024 to negotiate an updated Farm Bill.